Sheltie Rescue of Utah, Inc.

Saving the World, One Sheltie At A Time

We are always deeply saddened when one of our rescued Shelties reaches the end of his or her life. But we are comforted by knowing that they had the best possible lives after their rescue and placement into a permanent loving home. On this page, we remember some of the Shelties who were rescued by Sheltie Rescue and have since passed on.

We often say that these loved Shelties are waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge or have crossed to the Bridge. If your computer has the right software (a Shockwave/Flash viewer) installed, you might want to grab a tissue or two and watch this video about this very comforting concept.

If you have adopted a Sheltie from us, we would be very grateful for you to contact us when that Sheltie has reached the end of his or her life. We will be happy to put a memoriam on this page.

1) We found Fafi as she was being turned in to an animal shelter. She had quite obviously been terribly abused—her front teeth had very recently been kicked in and were loose and bleeding. She was already elderly (between 9 and 10 years of age). We couldn't then, and still cannot, understand how people can be so cruel to those who depend on them.

When we took her to our vet to treat her injuries, we learned that she had Cushing's Disease, which was caused by cancer! We placed Fafi on chemotherapy, which kept the Cushing's at bay for several years.

Dogs with such serious health problems, as well as older dogs, are often unadoptable, so we adopted Fafi into our hearts and our family, and she lived in hospice care with us for several years, until her death from the Cushing's Disease. Like all of our Shelties, Fafi was held in loving arms as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

2) Lady was a full sister (from a different litter) of another Sheltie, Annie, who had come into our lives (Annie was planned). Lady had been very badly abused (beaten, chained to a toilet) and came to us with serious emotional problems, including signs of autism or schizophrenia. She was so sensitive to certain noises, like the telephone, microwave, and even staplers, that we realized she was not adoptable, so we adopted her ourselves. She lived with us until her death in 2002 from lung cancer (ironically, her sister Annie died of lung cancer less than a year earlier).

In spite of her sometimes noisy response to the noises she didn't like, Lady was a fantastic, loving companion to us and to our other dogs (including the constant parade of rescue Shelties passing through) and to our cat. We miss her terribly.

3) That adorable bi-color ("bi-black") Sheltie to the left is Pixel (her AKC registered name was "Daryl's Black N White Pixel"). Shortly after Pixel's 11th birthday (in 2002), she was turned over to an animal shelter by owners who said that they were unable to keep her after they moved. This was at least the second time in Pixel's life that she had been turned over to an animal shelter!

We rescued Pixel and began a program to restore her spirits and tend to her badly sun-damaged coat. Pixel's right foreleg appeared to have been damaged, possibly even broken, as she stood somewhat bowlegged and exhibited a slight sensitivity in that leg.

Pixel was incredibly loving and affectionate and had a fabulous personality—in fact, we frequently told her that she was "pixel perfect"! One snuggle and kiss, and everyone agreed that she was as "pixelicious" as we thought she was.

Unfortunately, we learned that Pixel had Cushing's Disease (or some other disease that seemed likely to cause her increasing deterioration). Because of this, we concluded that Pixel was not adoptable and we placed her into hospice care. She lived the life of luxury in our home that such a wonderful Sheltie deserves.

Sadly, Pixel's health problems, including (definitely) Cushings Disease, finally overwhelmed her powerful spirit. We released this lovely and loving little 12½-year-old girl from her suffering at the end of January, 2004, holding her in our arms and whispering how much we loved her. Our home will not be the same without Pixel to remind us when it's time to get up, to go outside, and (most importantly, of course) to eat!

4) Laddie was turned over to us by his Mom, who realized that she did not have the time to spend with him and that he deserved a better life than being left to himself all day. In the course of our usual medical workup, we discovered that Laddie was in the late stages of chronic kidney disease and had weeks — possibly only days — left. Laddie also appeared to have brain damage from some incident early in his life, before his relinquishing Mom got him.

Laddie often felt very ill and had little appetite, but he was a fantastic little soccer player! He would find his soccer ball (smaller than regulation, but still fairly large) and bring it to us with a combination of head and front leg maneuvers. What a trooper!

We are very sad to report that Laddie's condition deteriorated so much that, at the end of December, 2003, we took him to our veterinarian so that he could be relieved of his suffering while we held him in our arms. Laddie, we will miss you!

5) Josh was a sweet, handsome boy with a wonderful personality. His former home was sorry to have to let him go, but it was unavoidable, so Sheltie Rescue of Utah sought the perfect home for him. And a wonderful family showed up to adopt Josh and share love and devotion with him for the rest of his life.

Josh loved to play, but he was tentatively diagnosed with mild Von Willebrand's Disease, which meant that even slight injuries might cause him to bleed significantly. Josh had only two bleeding events in his life, neither one life-threatening. His new home was aware of these possibilities and gave him the medical care he needed.

Tragically, in January, 2004, Josh turned up missing from his new home. After several weeks of frantic searching, Josh's body was found (in late February), this beautiful boy having been deliberately killed (by humans). The horror of this situation causes us all pain and Sheltie Rescue of Utah offered a reward for the apprehension and conviction of those responsible for his death. Unfortunately, the killers were never found.

6) Timmy came to us with undiagnosed eye problems, caused (as we later learned) by a birth defect—his optic nerve did not develop normally. Timmy had problems navigating around our house and yard and we eventually realized that he had trouble detecting boundaries, such as those between solid objects and open space! However, Timmy had such a super-sweet disposition and a fantastic attitude towards life that we never even considered putting him down. He didn't have a clue that he was disadvantaged, and his intelligence was constantly demonstrated as he would carefully learn his way around new environments.

We placed Timmy with a lovely woman who lived in a 1-level house (so Timmy wouldn't have to deal with negotiating stairs and risking a tumble) and was willing to understand and help Timmy deal with his vision problems.

In late 2003, we learned that Timmy had passed away. We share his wonderful mom's sadness at his passing, but rejoice that he had such a wonderful (if altogether too short) life.

6) Aspen was picked up by Animal Control for the "umpteenth" time, and this time his owners didn't bother to come pick him up. Animal Control contacted Sheltie Rescue of Utah and we immediately went to get him. The poor guy was in horrible condition and had to be shaved just to allow us to get down to his skin, where we discovered countless embedded foxtails and other injuries. When we took him to the vet for treatment, X-rays revealed that his right foreleg had been broken and healed (how?) without ever having been treated and set! In fact, the entire right side of his body showed signs of serious injuries, suggesting that he was (at least) once hit by a car.

In late December, 2004, Aspen's pain began to get the best of him and he was clearly losing his quality of life. With heavy hearts, we made the difficult decision on January 6, 2005, to release him from the pain and other medical problems. While held in loving arms, Aspen crossed the Rainbow Bridge, where he can play all day without all the pain he had suffered.

7) Rascal was a very sweet senior citizen. He was almost completely deaf, but extremely good natured and alert. He loved to snuggle and be petted and got along with everybody, including other dogs.

Regrettably, before we were able to find a permanent home for Rascal, it became apparent that his seeming good health was not going to last, so we put him into our hospice care program. When his organs began to fail in mid-2005, we decided that we had to let him go. He was helped along to the Rainbow Bridge being held in our loving arms.

8) Lily showed up on the doorstep of a friend of Sheltie Rescue during the great post-Christmas snowstorm of 2003, cold, hungry, exhausted, and obviously lost. No owners could be found and it was obvious that Lily was a senior. She was quickly named "Tiny Lil", in no small part because she weighed less than 12 pounds! The wonderful people who found Lily immediately gave her excellent medical care and nursed her back to health. Due to jealousy in the household (an existing dog resented having new competition), Lily's rescuers were unable to adopt her.

We took her into hospice care and had over a year and a half of her love in our lives. Lily had a tremendous personality and just adored being held and cuddled. Unfortunately, Lily lost her battle with age in the autumn of 2005 and we released her to join all of her friends at the Rainbow Bridge.

9) This little bi-colored ("bi-black") girl is Amina, whom we named after an African (Hausa) princess who lived in the 15th century. Amina, whom we believed (in 2002) to be between 5and 8 years of age, was found wandering the streets of West Valley City on an extremely hot summer day and turned over to the West Valley animal shelter. When the required number of days had passed, we rescued her from the shelter and brought her into the Sheltie Rescue program. Unfortunately, just after she came to us, she began having grand mal seizures (several in a day). Our veterinarian's diagnosis was that Amina was having cluster seizures and put her on a variety of medications, which she had to take for the rest of her life. Our vet told us early in 2003 that Amina probably had no more than a couple of months to live, but she was a veritable Energizer Bunny...she kept on going and going and going.

Amina obviously had a very hard life in the past and suffered from fairly serious arthritis, but with the relief and reduction in joint inflammation that the Rimadyl gave her, she became one of the most enthusiastic ball chasers and catchers we know. Unfortunately, Amina had several neurologic disorders, possibly caused by some sort of meningitis (or injury or poison or who-knows-what). She was not adoptable and lived with us in hospice care until she died of stomach cancer and crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 19 December, 2005. We'll miss Amina for a very long time.

10) Sally-Ann was found running the streets of Boise. A good Samaritan picked her up and, with all good intention, brought her to a shelter - not realizing that it was a "kill shelter". A review of Sally-Ann convinced this shelter that she was not adoptable, but someone from the Idaho Animal Welfare group noticed her. After repeated efforts, they were able to get Sally-Ann released to them and then turned her over to Sheltie Rescue of Utah. Sally-Ann was morbidly obese but lost weight at a reasonable rate.

Sally-Ann was diagnosed with a neurological problem that is leading to more severe seizures, with an enlarged heart, with failing liver and kidneys, with extremely severe arthritis, etc.. In early February, 2006, we were told that she probably had less than a month left. Very happily, Sally-Ann lived with us until mid-April, giving us an additional two months to revel in her love. On 12 April, Sally-Ann let us know that it was her time, so we took her into our vets' office, where she went to sleep one last time, being held in our loving arms as we whispered to her how much we love her. She will be greatly missed.

Maggie was a very pretty, six year old tri-color Sheltie (that's black, sable, and white) who loved to play with toys, kiss and cuddle, and had a wonderful attitude, was very upbeat and very loving with people. After far too short a time in her forever home, Maggie was diagnosed with breast cancer and crossed the Rainbow Bridge shortly thereafter. Maggie was loved very much, brought much joy, and will be terribly missed.

Her teeth were in horrendous shape, her breath was foul, and she could hardly eat because of the pain. Despite that, foxtails all over her, and being arthritic, Annie was attentive, responsive, willing, and loving. She had a world-class dental and began acting like a kid again. She rediscovered the joy of savoring her meals with a pain- and odor-free mouth. And with some TLC and anti-inflammatory medications also enjoyed being a bouncy Sheltie again with much less arthritic pain. She was such a joy to have around!

In June, 2006, Annie was diagnosed with adenoid carcinoma, an aggressive and invasive cancer. She fought valiantly, but in late July, it became obvious that the cancer was completely taking over her muzzle, including her breathing passages and even her eye sockets. While we didn't believe that she was actively suffering yet, she was having difficulty breathing. Knowing that it was the right thing to do for Annie, however much it hurt us, we gently released Annie to join her old friends at the Rainbow Bridge. Annie gave us the gift of a year of her life, and we will miss her very much for a long time.

13) Brighty belonged to a former Sheltie breeder who lives in a nearby state. The breeder is a senior who had an accident that left her unable to give her Shelties the standard of care that she wanted to give them. After trying for a year to regain that ability, she was injured again and faced several months in hospital and physical therapy. To ensure that her beloved dogs would be given the best care they could get, she contacted Sheltie Rescue.

Brighty was 15 and a half years old, almost blind, and virtually deaf. His teeth were in very poor condition and he obviously had serious arthritis. We knew immediately that Brighty would not be adoptable and placed him into hospice care. He, along with his pal Dusty (see Dusty's story on our Hospice Care page) joined a fantastic family who requested the pleasure and privilege of living with this very elderly gentleman for the rest of his natural life.

Unfortunately, less than a week after Brighty came into our care, he slipped into a coma during the night and, despite the best efforts of the family's veterinarian, never awoke. Brighty was assisted along to the Rainbow Bridge knowing that he was loved, warm, and safe.

14) Laddie was the very image of the word "adorable" (just look in Webster's and you'll find his picture beside the definition — or at least you should)! He was released to us by a family with one member who had recently had some brain surgery and was having severe headaches as a result of the normal doggy noises that Laddie made throughout the day. They loved Laddie very much and turned him over to Sheltie Rescue of Utah in December, 2003, only as a last resort.

Laddie was a very small, 2.5 year old (at the time) Sheltie, about 12.5" at the shoulder, and seemed to loves everybody. He was very social and got along well with people and with other dogs. Among his more delightful characteristics was that he loved to sing! Start humming a tune, and Laddie would rush over and start singing along with you. (Of course, to human ears, it might have sounded like howling, but his intent and enthusiasm were clear.)

We were very happy to have placed Laddie into a wonderful home where he had a Sheltie-sister (who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in December, 2005) and where he had the opportunity to be a registered therapy dog. He even got to spend time up in the Uintah mountains and watch the moose wandering around! In early 2006, the same wonderful family adopted another Sheltie (Apache) from us, so Laddie had another companion to share his life.

In mid-2006, we were saddened to learn that Laddie had been diagnosed with lymph-node cancer. For a while, it seemed that his chemotherapy was working and the cancer might have been eliminated. Unfortunately, in October, the cancer came back. This very special, loving boy fought valiantly, but the cancer began causing him more and more pain and difficulty breathing. Laddie let his mommy and daddy know early on the morning of December 16 that he was ready to cross the Bridge. He was released from his pain while held in loving arms.

Laddie was one of those incredibly special dogs that come into our lives all too infrequently. We will miss him terribly.

15) Maggie was the cutest little thing. She was a very small, dark ("mahogany") sable-and-white Sheltie with a very sweet face. She came to us in late summer 2005 at the age of 9. She had lived with her "mom" from puppyhood, but "mom" remarried and her new husband refused to let Maggie continue to live in the house! Rather than allowing Maggie to suffer being expelled from the house, this thoughtful woman relinquished Maggie to us.

She was a fantastic cuddler. She loved nothing better than curling up next to us in bed or lying on one of our stomachs while we watched TV. In mid-2006, we discovered that Maggie had a growth in one lung, which was surgically removed. As her health deteriorated, we became convinced that she should be placed into hospice care and stay with us for the remainder of her life. Unfortunately, on January 6, 2007, while visiting our vets for a routine checkup, Maggie went into cardiac arrest and, in spite of our vets' heroic efforts, she could not be revived. Her lung problems had led to congestive heart failure and she died without suffering. We miss her terribly, as she had become such an important part of our lives, but we know that she's just across the Rainbow Bridge with all of her old friends, suffering no more.

16) Teardrop came to us from a former Sheltie breeder in a nearby state who is a senior who had an accident that left her unable to give her Shelties the standard of care that she wanted to give them. Teardrop was only 4 and a half years old (October 2006), was very sweet, and only wanted for her life to return to "normal" as soon as possible.

Teardrop was fostered by two foster moms until we found just the right foster home for her – along with her sister Pearl. Her foster mom was extremely protective of her two charges and was extra careful, knowing that Teardrop was a "runner". A freak event happened in late January, 2007, when Teardrop yanked a leash (attached to a choke collar) out of her foster mom's hand as a friend opened the gate to the fully-fenced yard. Teardrop slipped through the gate and disappeared down the street. While her foster mom searched for her, we received a phone call from a caring motorist who had witnessed Teardrop being hit by a car; that motorist stayed with Teardrop until her last breath left and she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Teardrop's foster mom was devastated, as are we. This darling girl was loved so much and will be missed terribly.

17) Lulu came to us in May 2006 at about 8 or 9 years old. She was released to us by her family of about four years (for reasons we don't fully understand). She was very intelligent and learned quickly how to please her people; she liked men and women equally, too. Lulu only wanted to bond with somebody who would give her the love that she deserves. In August, 2006, we began noticing changes in Lulu's body and learned that she had very serious heart disease and were told that she was very unlikely to live more than a few more weeks. We pampered and spoiled this lovely girl completely rotten until we learned that she also had very serious, final stage kidney failure. On January 24, 2007, we released her to cross the Rainbow Bridge and join all of her old buddies. She leaves a very huge hole in our hearts!

We miss you, Lulu! Be at peace, little girl.

18) Dilly came to us as a senior in October 2006 from a former Sheltie breeder in a nearby state who is a senior who had an accident that left her unable to give her Shelties the standard of care that she wanted to give them. When Dilly arrived here, she seemed to be in reasonable condition. What we soon learned was that she had spondylosis, a degenerative spinal disorder also known as spinal arthritis, as well as very severe arthritis in her other joints. It soon became apparent that Dilly was not really adoptable because of those problems, plus an extremely sensitive stomach, so we placed her into hospice care.

In May 2007, Dilly was in very obvious pain that we couldn't adequately control with medication, and was unable to stand up (and barely able to walk once standing), and almost unable to go potty without being held. We made that horrid decision that hurts so much, but knew that we had to think about Dilly and her quality of life. With great pain in our hearts, we held loving, caring, gentle Dilly in our arms as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge to once again live and play free of pain.

Note from the Webmaster: Of the 18 (or more) dogs listed on this page and realized that almost half of them died of one or another form of cancer or of a disease deriving from a cancer! I find this terribly frightening. What's going on here? Is it due to environmental influences?

(Last updated 2007-06-18)